Pediatric ibuprofen compositions are known in the art and marketed commercially. One such suspension is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,145,440 and teaches taste-masking the ibuprofen by first forming an aluminum salt of ibuprofen and then suspending the aluminum salt of ibuprofen in a pharmaceutical vehicle containing microcrystalline cellulose, sodium carboxymethylcellulose or magnesium aluminum silicate as preferred suspending agents, and water soluble surface active agents in a sorbitol/glycerin/water mixture. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,361,580 teaches taste-masking with an aluminum salt of ibuprofen in a vehicle containing a suspending agent with a particle size below 50 microns, a water-soluble surfactant, water and sucrose or its sweetening equivalent of glucose, fructose, sodium saccharin or sodium cyclamate. The suspending agents include acacia, tragacanth, xanthan gum, microcrystalline cellulose, and sodium carboxymethylcellulose and the surfactants include (z)-sorbitan-mono-9-octadecenoate and polysorbate 80.
Fluid suspensions of ibuprofen are also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,346,108 which describes various ibuprofen dosage forms. The example of liquid dosage form again contains the ibuprofen aluminum salt, citric acid, benzoic acid, sucrose, tragacanth, lemon oil and water. Acacia and methylcellulose are disclosed as other suspending agents.